I have subscribed to Lucky Peach, David Chang‘s cooking magazine, since the very first issue. I remember how excited I was when that first issue came, with its cover photo of a plucked chicken being lowered into a stockpot. I felt very, very cool. Like I was a tangential part of a crazy punk-rock cooking scene. Lucky Peach…
Homemade Napa Cabbage Kimchi
I love Korean food. I only know of two places to get it in Albuquerque: Korean BBQ House and Soo Bak Foods, the local Korean food truck. Both are very tasty. But of course, if I love a food I need to be able to make it myself. And if you want to make Korean…
What Is American Food?
On this patriotic holiday – as on pretty much every other holiday – I have one deep philosophical concern: “What shall we eat?” In today’s case, I wonder what foods are patriotic? How do things like that get decided, anyway? A simple answer is that classically seasonal summer foods – grilled hamburgers and hot dogs,…
Eating NYC, Part 2
Once Arne joined me in the city – hours late from stupid Texas weather – the culinary exploration kicked up a notch. Our first stop was Madison Square Eats, a collection of food stalls in Madison Square Park featuring some famous names like Momofuku Milk Bar. (I had previously visited with Mom and Jeff –…
Quick Cucumber Kimchi
Without a doubt, kimchi is a love-it or hate-it food. I’m pretty fond of it. Arne is crazy for the stuff, but even he admits it’s a strange thing to love. Many foods are based on controlled spoilage – cheese and beer, for example. Like blue cheese with its veins of mold, though, traditional kimchi…